Friday's Kitchen: 'Change One Thing' - Sweet Potato Brownies

Are you thinking, 'huh'? Right now?  I don't blame you - it's only over the past year or so that I've started to take a real interest in weird and wonderful food combinations; partly down to my love of the food provided by my good friend Beth Marriott-Howell at her fantastic Sherwood deli, Kiosk. 

So this week, for Change One Thing, I thought I would tinker around with a classic chocolatey treat and try and make it a tiny bit healthier!  So here goes...here is my recipe for Sweet Potato Brownies.

The benefits of sweet potatoes are really something to read up on and we should all being trying to make room for them in our diets.  They are a great source of both Vitamins B6, C and D - which are critical for the immune system as well as aids in fighting degenerative diseases; plus they are a great source of iron and magnesium, which are great immunity boosters AND stress busters. 

So why replace some of the sugar and flour levels in a brownie, for sweet potato?  Well, the answer is simple; we want to reduce the sugar and fat contents in our treats without sacrificing the gooey, sludgy goodness we all know and love about brownies.  The starch in sweet potatoes help to create that gorgeous gooey texture as it both binds the mix and moistens it.  The only trouble is, after hunting the internet for recipe inspirations, I found most had a million substitute ingredients, including sweetener.  I'm a 'clean living' kind of girl to an extent and I wanted a relatively simple recipe with no substitute sweeteners!  So, with a bit of research and a bit of playing about in the kitchen, I came up with this...

Ingredients:
150g Baked Sweet Potato flesh (scooped from skins once baked for about 45 mins, skins can be discarded)
200g Dark Chocolate (try not to go for anything too bitter)
100g Unsalted Butter
125g Soft Brown Sugar
2 Medium Eggs
100g Plain Flour
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Tsps Vanilla Extract
100g Chopped Pecans
OPTIONAL: 3 Tsps Maple Syrup

Method:
Preheat an oven to 170 C (160 C Fan) and line a square baking tin with greaseproof paper.

Once you have baked your potato, scoop the flesh into a mixing bowl with the brown sugar and beat with a whisk until the mixture is combined and fairly smooth.

In a saucepan, melt your butter and add 125-150g of your chocolate (chopped) and stir until melted. 

Add this mixture to your potato mix and beat together until a gooey consistency starts to form.  Add your eggs and splash vanilla extract and combine together with a wooden spoon (If adding maple syrup, add the syrup at this stage).

Finally add your flour and baking powder and mix until evenly distributed.  Throw in your chopped pecans and the remaining chocolate and mix.  Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for approx 20 mins until browned but still soft on the inside.

Once cooked, leave to cool on a wire rack and cut into desired-sized pieces!  Serve with a pot of tea and DAZZLE your friends when you tell them the secret ingredient!

These Sweet Potato Brownies were made as part of  my 'Change One Thing' month on Life is Peachy.  If you would like your recipes to be linked to my Friday's Kitchen throughout August - please email your links to missemmaberry@gmail.com